Previous baseball clubs in Winston-Salem had typically been called the "Twins", in reference to the long-since-merged "Twin Cities" of Winston and Salem since 1905. The Twins played in the Virginia-North Carolina League in 1905, the Carolina Baseball Association from 1908 to 1917 and the Piedmont League from 1920 to 1933 and again from 1937 to 1942.
The current franchise joined the Carolina League in 1945, and is the oldest continuously operating team in that circuit. Originally a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, it retained the Twins name until 1953, when it became the Winston-Salem Cardinals. The 1950 team was recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.[1]
After a brief period (1957–60) as the Winston-Salem Red Birds, the team switched affiliation in 1961 to the Boston Red Sox. It remained with the Red Sox for 22 years, and was known until 1983 as the Winston-Salem Red Sox. In 1984, the team changed affiliates again, this time contracting with the Chicago Cubs, and changed its name to the Winston-Salem Spirits.
The logo of the Winston-Salem Warthogs, used from 1995 to 2008
The team initially retained the Spirits name after becoming the Cincinnati Reds A-level affiliate in 1993, winning the Carolina League championship in that same year. After the 1994 season, the club decided to change its name and sponsored a contest through the local newspaper, the Winston-Salem Journal, to come up with a new name. The winning entry, the Warthogs, became the official team name in 1995. In addition to being alliterative, it also referred to the somewhat-celebrated acquisition of some warthogs at the North Carolina Zoo around that time. As the Warthogs, they were the league champion in 2003.
When the Warthogs were about to open a new ballpark, a contest was held to give the team a new name. 3,000 suggestions were received.[2] On December 4, 2008, the team publicly announced that they would be called the Winston-Salem Dash from 2009 onward. The Dash name is rumored to be a reference to a nickname for the city of Winston-Salem, "The Dash",[citation needed] a reference to the (-) symbol used in the middle of the city's name, despite the fact that it is not a dash at all, but a hyphen. Complaints about the incorrect name began soon after the name was first used, and on May 6, 2023, for one home game, the team called itself the Winston-Salem Hyphens.[2]
As the Warthogs, the team's mascot was Wally Warthog. With the new nickname, the Dash held a name-the-mascot contest for Wally's replacement. In keeping with the image of speed implied by "The Dash", the new mascot is a lightning-themed character named Bolt.[3]
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Dash were organized into the High-A East.[4] In 2022, the High-A East became known as the South Atlantic League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[5]
Ballparks
The club originally played at South Side Park, south of the downtown area. When that park burned, a new park was built on the north side, near the Wake Forest University campus and the RJR plant, and named Ernie Shore Field in honor of the former major leaguer who had led the fund drive for the new ballpark. Opened in 1956, Ernie Shore Field seats 6,000 fans. BB&T Ballpark was hoped to be completed for the 2009 season, or sometime within the season, but construction came to a halt due to a lack of funding. Meanwhile, Ernie Shore Field had been sold to Wake Forest and renamed as Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, compelling the Dash to lease the ballpark back for the 2009 season. On June 2, 2009, the Dash announced a new scheduled opening for the 2010 season.[6]
On February 24, 2010, the Dash announced BB&T Ballpark's official name.[6]
The Dash finally opened the new BB&T Ballpark on April 13, 2010.[7]
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